Newspaper Page Text
Page 9
Perspectives
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Maroon Tiger
StfCftElAkY from front
•teaching.
Dr. Paige praised the 'Teach
for America" program, which he
railed a "wonderful program,"
wringing highly qualified and moti
vated individuals into the teaching
profession every year.
One Georgia educator in
ittendance asked Dr. Paige about
heslowimplementationofthe"No
Child Left Behind" policy in Geor
gia, but the Secretary said that this,
:oo, was administered on a state
evel, though he welcomed such
feedback so that he would know
where federal involvement was
needed.
He did say, however, that "no
rhange is easy," telling the teacher
:o be patient and "keep the spirit
ap."
At the end of Dr. Paige's
address, he was presented with a
Vlorehouse College sweater by
Morehouse student, Ashley
Stewart.
The presentation by the
Secretary of Education was part of
r series of lectures planned through
put the year by the Leadership Cen-
er aimed at promoting leadership
among Morehouse students. There
will be another symposium in April
an black leadership in the South, or
ganized by Dr. Preston King, fol-
owed by a presentation by Tavis
Smiley on ethical black leadership.
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SECURITY GIVE YOU A JOB YOU CAN
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DETENTION ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Protect
people seeking asylum and track down people to be
deported
IMMIGRATION INSPECTOR: Detect and prevent
illegal entry of unauthorized persons into the United
States
ADJUCATION OFFICER: Conduct immigration
hearings and interpret and enforce law immigration law
DEPORTATION OFFICER: Return illegal immigrants
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SPECIAL AGENT: Dismantle smuggling orginizations
and conduct investigations of criminal activities originating
overseas
A career with the DHS is challenging and rewarding.
For more information or to
apply online visit our website: Be a part of one of the fastest growing industries in the nation
WWW immiaration OOV De P artment Of Homeland Security coming to Morehouse
refererTe*9983 ^ campus April 2003-
Misconcieved notions of the people
Christian Nwachukwu, Jr.
Copy Editor
I am a patriot. Much
like Lewis Lapham, Howard
Dean, Paul Krugman, Maureen
Dowd, John Berger, and Helen
Thomas.
The patriots have not been
silent during the firestorm of
fear since September 11, 2001.
We have only been muted. The
libelous labels of "anti-Ameri
can" and "traitor" from those
who simply trust the simple
man with the deep faith and the
boy-next-door smile have been
deafening.
'War Imminent as
Hussein Rejects Ultimatum,'
reads the headline of today's
New York Times. As I write
this, the bombs are not yet
bursting in the air above
Baghdad. I could not wait that
long, because that is not the
point. No one seems afraid.
Five hundred thousand
Iraqi children have died unnec
essarily since 1991. What is a
half million more? I suppose
nothing. America must be safe
from imaginary enemies and
invisible foes. The greatest foe
to the American republic is not
in Iraq or in Iran, or Syria, or
North Korea or'Saudi Arabia.
The greatest threat to the
American republic is Ameri
cans.
We live in a time when
half of those 18 and over in this
country are not even registered
to vote. We live in an age of in
formation at the speed of
thought and yet our president
has not fudged the truth or
blurred the lines, but he and his
troops have sat on national tele
vision, stood before the UN,
and told the American people
flat lies.
No one is disturbed
that the United States govern
ment referenced falsified docu
ments in their report to the
United Nations concerning
weapons in Iraq. No one is out
raged that our president treats
our allies with the same indif
ference as our foes and talks
down to us as though we were
the children he imagines
Vicente Fox and Kim Jong II to
be.
No one is alarmed that
current estimates from leading
economists are that one would
have to earn between $250,000
and $300,000 to "stay afloat"
in the decade to come when
the red bill that George W. is
leaving us following his "tax
relief" must be paid.
No one is frightened that
the American people have at
tained the highest life expect
ancy in our history and yet the
Bush tax plan calls for mas
sive cuts in Medicaid, Medi
care, Social Security and fed
eral retirement benefits. The
Bush legacy will be the repeal
of Franklin Roosevelt's 'New
Deal' and Lyndon Johnson's
'Great Society.'
I watched C-SPAN 2
a few days ago. I saw a fo
rum with Win Without War,'
a coalition of former US con
gressmen and women who
oppose the War on Iraq,
hosted by the National Press
Association. I saw President
Bush and British Prime Min
ister Blair make the case for pre
emptive war by changing the sub
ject to the "Road Map" for peace
in the Middle East.
But what shocked me were
the Senate hearings on the pos
sible drilling in ANWR (Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge). Forty
percent fewer acres are recog
nized wetlands in Texas today
than were three years ago. The
Bush Administration wants to
turn back the clock on the envi
ronment in the rest of the coun
try as well.
While unemployment rises,
the stock market falls, and we
stand on the brink of a war policy
that places US whim supreme to
the will of the rest of the world,
the White House creates clarity by
looking to end the energy crises
by lining the pockets of oil execu
tives.
The American republic is
dying. No one thinks that Oprah
Winfrey joined the ranks of
America's 222 billionaires by
watching how Jerry Springer
does it. We do not believe that
Michael Jordan retires in April as
one of the greatest athletes in his
tory by simply trusting that he
could be great. Yet, Americans
think that we can be the greatest
democracy the world has ever
known by handing our brains
over to the few and our lives over
to the powerful.
America is an oligarchy.
Our congressmen and women are
for sale to the highest bidder,
our judges as partisan as those
who confirmed them and our
president, according to him,
does not have to answer our
questions. The elected elite in
the Bush camp view our ques
tions with scorn and reduce
our dissent to unpatriotic ran
cor.
We must question our
system and we must become
informed participants in the
ever-evolving process of free
dom, lest our leaders become
lords and our president a ty
rant.
"Tyranny never has
much trouble drumming up
the smiles of prompt agree
ment, but a democracy stands
in need of as many questions
as its citizens can ask of their
own stupidity and fear; dissent
is what rescues the democracy
from a slow death behind
closed doors."
This essay is in hom
age to Peggy Noonan, Ari
Fleisher, Joseph Lieberman,
John McCain, Condolezza
Rice, John Kerry, Colin Powell,
Fox News, MSNBC, CNN,
Donald Rumsfeld, Dick
Cheney, George W. Bush, and
every American who cannot be
bothered with the burden of
citizenship. The America they
dream is a place not fit to live
in and one that her subjects
must wage war to advance.
"This essay is in homage to Peggy
Noonan, Ari Fleisher, Joseph Lieberman, John
McCain, Condolezza Rice, John Kerry, Colin
Powell, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, Donald
Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and
every American who cannot be bothered with
the burden of citizenship."